


The Doctor Will See You Now

by E350tb



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:35:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27282778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/E350tb/pseuds/E350tb
Summary: Priyanka gets a late night visitor.
Comments: 12
Kudos: 13





	The Doctor Will See You Now

**The Doctor Will See You Now**

It was a dark and stormy night, and Priyanka Maheswaran was running late.

Crossroads Hospital wasn’t well-staffed late at night; most of the big emergency cases got transferred to Wilmingmore, and the skeletal late staff were more than enough to deal with the few overnight cases the wards cared for. Most of what Priyanka did in the late hours of the night was busywork; paperwork and filing that needed to be done before she clocked out.

She’d wanted to be out by nine, if only because she had to be awake tomorrow; she was taking Connie up to check a college in Appalachia, and that promised a long drive. But she’d been caught up in a phone call that had gone on and on and on, until she could have sworn her brain was about to ooze out through her ear. But at last it was done, and she was ready to head on home.

She grabbed her coat and started off down the corridor, headed for the door. Her eyes were heavy - she yawned as she neared the exit.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Just as I thought; human doctors are marred by the inefficiencies of the human nervous system.”

Priyanka turned around. A gem, tall and with an oval hairdo, stood next to the unmanned desk. Her skin was an olive green, and her fingers hovered from the end of her arms - limb enhancers, clearly.

“I’m sorry,” said Priyanka firmly. “But visiting hours are over, and we aren’t equipped to treat gems. Did Dr. Stromberg let you in?”

“Dr. Stromberg was an… unsuccessful candidate,” replied the gem. “Peridot, Facet 7LE. I am conducting an experiment on the improvement of human medical care.”

“And you need my help?” Priyanka crossed her arms. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to tell you the same thing Dr. Stromberg seems to have; I can’t help you right now. I need to get home.”

“I thought you might not be willing, so I took the liberty of securing the doors.”

Priyanka pushed against the door. It didn’t budge.

Slowly, the doctor turned around again.

“Ma’am,” she said evenly, “you are detaining me against my will. If you do not open this door, I will be forced to contact security.”

“Security has been taken out of the equation,” replied the Peridot.

A chill ran down Priyanka’s back.

“What… what do you mean by-”

The Peridot raised her hand, which glowed a bright emerald green. Orbs of the same colour appeared around Priyanka’s hands, and she yelped as she was lifted up and suspended against the wall. The Peridot smiled as she stepped towards her - one of her fingers shifted, turning into what looked like a syringe.

“I am fairly certain I have the nanotechincal formula perfected now,” she said. “It should be rapid and painless.”

“ _Ungh!_ If… when the Crystal Gems find out about this…”

“But I’m not doing anything wrong,” said the Peridot, almost sweetly. “I’m just helping you be the best doctor you can be, by curing you of your organic deficiencies.”

“Organic… I don’t volunteer for this!” exclaimed Priyanka.

“See, there’s one of them,” said the Peridot. “ _Fear_. Humans are just too emotional. Being a doctor requires you to be _dispassionate._ ”

“That’s… that’s not even slightly…”

“ _Shhh…_ ” The Peridot shushed her as she reached her, her finger hovering over her neck. A tiny needle emerged from the end.

The Peridot smiled again.

“You’ll thank me for this,” she assured her. “If you survive.”

There was a sting in her neck, and Priyanka slowly drifted off into darkness.

* * *

Doug hated the late shift.

He yawned as he pulled into the driveway. It was the wrong side of three o’clock, and he was looking forward to a nice, long sleep. He wasn’t surprised to see the lights off; Priyanka and Connie would have gone to bed long ago. He’d keep nice and quiet for their sake.

He got out of the car and crept up the driveway, slowly opening the door. There was the slightest creak - surely not enough to wake anybody…

“Welcome home, Doug.”

Doug jumped. He could just about see Priyanka in the gloom of the dark living room, sitting on the chair.

“Priya!” he exclaimed. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t think you’d still be awake… and sleeping in the dark?”

“I don’t have to sleep if I don’t want to.”

Doug winced - her tone was a strict monotone. He must be in trouble for something, he thought.

“Is there a problem?” he asked nervously.

“Yes,” said Priyanka. “There is. Shut the door, Doug.”

Slowly, Doug did so.

“I don’t understand,” he said.

“You are tired,” said Priyanka. “A tired security guard is thirty-seven percent less alert and capable than one who is not fatigued. Your reaction times are down. You are putting other humans at risk.”

Doug blinked.

“You’re not that green gem shapeshifted to look like my wife, are you?” he asked. “Peridot, right? Because I asked Amethyst not to do that, and she may not have gotten the mem-”

“I am going to help you improve,” said Priyanka, standing up - Doug could have sworn he heard something like a mechanical servo moving. “You are going to be the optimal security guard. It will not hurt at all.”

“Uh…” Doug adjusted his tie. “Is this roleplaying? Are we roleplaying right now?”

Priyanka stepped slowly towards him - he blinked. Something was very, very wrong. He opened his mouth to ask, when suddenly her hand flew towards his neck. He was pressed against the door with unnatural strength - his hand flapped desperately for the lightswitch.

He watched her other hand _morph_ into a syringe and slowly reach for his neck.

“You will thank me for this,” she said, and for the first time he noticed the reverb in her voice.

His finger pressed the lightswitch. He had half a second to regard the thing that resembled his wife before he felt the sting in his neck, and everything went black.

* * *

Connie didn’t need her parents to wake her - she was too excited for another college tour for that. She’d been awake at six, showered as quickly as she could and gotten dressed in a nice outfit (well, a polo shirt - she had too many.) It wasn’t just the college, though - she’d be meeting Steven for the afternoon afterwards, and she couldn’t wait.

She slipped on her shoes and bounded to the stairs.

“Mom! You read-”

Her voice caught in her throat.

There was a… _mechanical thing_ at the bottom of the stairs. A boxy torso floated on hoverpad legs, the words ‘SECURITY UNIT D’ emblazoned on the boxy surface. It’s head was a featureless orb, and red and blue lights alternated on top of the shoulders. Two long, hose-like arms extended from either side. It floated back and forth, blaring out the same sentence in her father’s voice; ‘PERIMETER SECURE. PERIMETER SECURE.’

“Uh… Dad? Are you being replaced by a box?” she called.

“ _Dad_ is fine, Connie.”

Connie turned as a voice came from the door to her parent’s room. Her jaw dropped, her eyes going wide.

It was her mother, that was for sure - except her face was smooth and featureless, and her hands were morphing like jello into a syringe and a scalpel attached to her limbs. She spoke with a mechanical reverb, and her movements seemed very lifeless and robotic as she began to walk over to her.

“He has been improved,” she said. “I have been improved.”

“Oh stars… stay back!” Connie began to back towards her room, where she knew her sword was. “What did you do with my real mom?!”

“I am your real mom,” replied Priyanka. “I have been improved.”

She followed slowly as Connie ducked into her room to find her sword, her voice following her daughter - even, monotone and utterly sinister.

“And very soon, so will you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Done for the Cluster Halloween Event!
> 
> Prompt: A series of events have led to a terrifying effect on one or more of the series’ characters. THE MAHESWARANS are now suffering from ROBOTIZATION. How did this happen?


End file.
